Biz tech

To overcome market challenges:

Companies look to technology

HP announced results of a new global research that shows organizations around the world expect technology to help them meet the challenges of today's unpredictable business environment and anticipate future business needs.

According to the global study, more than 90 percent of senior business decision-makers believe business cycles will continue to be unpredictable in the next few years. Seven out of 10 believe this new economy will change the way business planning works.

Nearly 75 percent of business leaders say their technology department is a fundamental enabler of their business's success.

Eight out of 10 leaders think the new economy will require significantly more technology focused on market-based needs.

"Technology is the sustaining force of any organization. To succeed, organizations must be adept at using technology to navigate change and seize opportunities," HP Enterprise Business executive vice president Ann Livermore said.

"HP believes technology can and should make a significant contribution to every organization's ability not just to cope, but to thrive. Our customers see this as well," she said.

According to 84 percent of business leaders, innovation is critical to their organization's success in the new economy. Two-thirds of these business leaders are using technology to identify new business opportunities and 71 percent said they would invest in more technology if they could see it was meeting time-to-market and business opportunity needs.

The research also shows 80 percent of organizations indicated their business and technology approach must be more flexible to meet changing customer needs.

Intel supports INFOTEL Jaffna exhibition

Intel Sri Lanka was the sponsor of the Mini INFOTEL Jaffna, the most extensive Information and Communication Technology (ICT) exhibition held in the Northern region. Mini INFOTEL Jaffna was held from February 26 to 28 at the Vembady Girls High School under the theme "Reawakening with ICT" to promote the benefits of ICT.

The event which drew 10,000 visitors, also featured a career guidance programe and entrepreneurial skill training to encourage innovative thinking.

Country Business Manager, Intel EM Limited - Sri Lanka Liaison office Indika de Zoysa said, "Intel was privileged to be a part of the inaugural INFOTEL exhibition held in the Northern Province.

ICT is a powerful force in shaping social and economic development and will play a pivotal role in the resurgence of the North.

Harnessing the potential of ICT can accelerate economic growth and dramatically improve human welfare, and we at Intel are proud to contribute to this effort," he said.

Intel provided support to business partners from the North and Colombo, such as eGlobe Computers and Barclays through the delivery of merchandising material and demo units.

The Mini INFOTEL Jaffna brought together local and international stakeholders in the IT industry and featured over 50 exhibitors.

The INFOTEL Exhibition was held in Jaffna.

Novell Partner Training Academy empower industry

Novell India Partner Academy, a training program for Novell's partners in selling, distributing and supporting Novell's suite of enterprise IT solutions, held for the first time in Colombo, was a major success.

Novell partners graduating from the Academy will be able to provide pre-sales consulting and professional services, post-sales support and training to their customers. Over 200 representatives from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan participated in the four-day program, during which senior Novell executives and partners discussed and identified prevailing challenges in developing the enterprise software market, in addition to formulating comprehensive growth strategies to subside and overcome them.

The event underscores Novell's intent and investment into the Sri Lankan market where partners such as Bell Solutions, Just in Time Group (JIT), Millennium IT and Metropolitan Computers will be critical, in helping Novell offer key solutions in the data centre, identity and security, end-user computing in Sri Lanka. On hand to guide the learning sessions were John Donovan, Rod Grigson and Paul Kangro, in addition to key technical specialists from the United States, Australia and India.

Their presence aided the attendees in understanding the latest developments in mixed operating platform environments, Linux, virtualization and the much-discussed area of Cloud Computing. Country Manager for Novell India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan Sandeep Menon said, "Many organisations around the world and in Asia have begun to look at IT infrastructure that is best-of-breed, cost-effective and easy to manage."

As such organizations in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan should also be able to learn from us and enjoy these benefits, in turn empowering the growth of their businesses.

"Novell strongly believes in the potential of these markets, and the benefits our solutions provide them, which is why we are prepared to invest and train more partners here," Menon said.

Novell is the only Linux distributor that Microsoft approves and supports.

Hameedia launches revamped e-portal

Hameedia recently re-launched its e-portal - www.hameedia.com.

With its totally new look and rich content, the e-portal already enjoys several thousand hits a day since its launch.

Hameedia Group Managing Director Fouzul Hameed, Group Brand Manager Leroy J. Ebert, IT Head Aruna Basnayake, Fortunaglobal Managing Director Suren Kohombange and Caltex CEO Kishu Gomes at the launch.

Caltex Managing Director/CEO Kishu Gomes lauded Hameedia for taking the initiative to further enhance its productivity with this newly re-launched e-portal.

"In today's modern context, e-shopping is fast gaining ground as a very speedy and practical solution to time-pressed shoppers. This is a very rich and highly interactive website which brings the infinite joys of shopping with the mere click of a button," he said.

Hameedia Managing Director Fouzul Hameed said the decision to upgrade and re-launch the e-portal was taken following requests from numerous Hameedia customers around the world. "Our overseas customers wanted to be an integral part of the shopping experience. They wanted to actively interact with our website.

As Sri Lanka's fully-fledged first-ever men's wear e-commerce portal, it now offers a better display of products and makes e-shopping a rewarding experience not only for our overseas customers, but also for our thousands of customers in Sri Lanka," he said.

The site is rich with quality photos and zooming facilities for exceptional viewing. Products are displayed at many angles with the facility of cross selling and up-selling products.

The special brand oriented display and positioning of top selling products at every page make it easy for customers to choose from.

The portal management solution is provided by Fortunaglobal which, in addition to its e-commerce and m-commerce initiatives, also specialises in software solutions and consultancy services for the financial, telecommunications and media verticals.

Nokia makes navigation free on smartphones

Nokia announced plans to release a new version of Ovi Maps for its smartphones that includes high-end walk and drive navigation at no extra cost, available for download at www.nokia.com/maps.

This move has the potential to nearly double the size of the current mobile navigation market.

Ovi Maps covers more than 180 countries with car and pedestrian navigation for 74 countries in 46 languages and 6000 3D landmarks for 200 cities around the world.

Lonely Planet and Michelin guides have information on more than 1,000 destinations globally.

"Why have multiple devices that work in only one country or region? Put it all together, make it free, make it global and you almost double the potential size of the mobile navigation market," Executive Vice President, Anssi Vanjoki said.

"Nokia is the only company with a mobile navigation service for both drivers and pedestrians that works across the world. Unlike the legacy car navigation manufacturers, we don't make you buy maps for different countries or regions even if you're only visiting for a few days.

It offers both navigation and maps free with all the high-end functionality and features that people now expect."

Ovi Maps is immediately available for download for 10 Nokia handsets. Current list of compatible Nokia devices include Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 Xpress Music, Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition, Nokia E52, Nokia E55, Nokia E72, Nokia 5230, Nokia 6710 Navigator, Nokia 6730 classic and Nokia X6, with more Nokia smartphones expected to be added in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, current owners of Nokia smartphones that are compatible with the new Ovi Maps can download it free from www.nokia.com/maps.